The next day, Tonan woke up early and walked out of the Uchiha clan’s territory. Instead of going to the academy, he went to a pet store in the shopping street and picked out a kitten.
The kitten was white and had four pink little paws. It was very small and fluffy. After putting it into a small cage provided by the store, Tonan went on his way to the academy.
As soon as he entered the classroom, he attracted a lot of attention, as usual. Among them were Hyuga Chiryo and Uchiha Mina. And Kakashi, as well.
Tonan walked straight to Mina and placed the cage on her table.
“I thought about it last night, and I think this little guy might be able to help you.”
Mina was a bit too surprised looking at the kitten in the cage and asked, “Tonan-kun, is this for me?”
“Yes.”
“Thank you!”
When the students in the classroom saw this, they all chattered away into another discussion about the couple.
In a silent corner that no one was paying attention to, Chiryo was lost in thought, and her fists were clenched hard under the desk. Her fingernails had pierced through the palm’s skin, causing blood to trickle out.
Even though Chiryo beat and threatened Mina the last time, the latter was an Uchiha. She was unlikely to remain suppressed. For starters, Mina didn’t think there was much of a gap between their abilities. And after having received Tonan’s guidance, she believed it wouldn’t be long before she surpassed Chiryo.
When Tonan took the initiative to gift her a pet, she accepted it without any concern.
During the class, Umino Naoto was lecturing from the podium. As usual, Tonan listened intently, even though he had already learned everything. But to maintain the persona he had in everyone’s hearts, he could only pretend to be attentive in class.
Chiryo sat rigidly on her seat, staring intently at his back the whole time. Mina, on the other hand, was secretly playing with the kitten that Tonan gifted her. Seeing the cute kitten curled up in a ball inside the cage, Mina curiously put a finger inside.
Then, she saw the kitten poking its head up, approaching her finger, and giving it a sniff before licking her fingertip with its pink tongue.
Mina’s heart melted in an instant. When she looked up at Tonan who was sitting at the front, her heart was delighted to the core.
“Don’t worry, Tonan-kun. I’ll take good care of this little guy!”
After the first period, Chiryo came to Mina with an icy look on her face.
“Come outside,” Chiryo whispered. She took the lead and headed towards the field. Glancing at Tonan who was absorbed in his book, Mina fearlessly followed her out.
Under the tree shade, Chiryo and Mina faced each other.
“You really think I won’t kill you?” The veins around Chiryo’s eyes flared up, and a morbidly ruthless expression surfaced on her face.
“Why don’t you stop with that weak act? Don’t think I’m afraid of you just because you’ve awakened your Byakugan,” Mina replied, crossing her arms and looking at Chiryo as if she had won a big match.
Chiryo slowly raised her hands and assumed the Gentle Fist seal.
“Only the same kind of people can be together. Both Tonan-kun and I are orphans. I’m the most suitable one for him.”
Mina grabbed a kunai from her bag and pointed it at Chiryo.
“Is this a joke! My parents were killed in action during the Second Great Shinobi War. Based on your logic, I’m an orphan too. Why should I give up on Tonan-kun?”
Chiryo was stunned, and silent for a long time, seemingly lost in thought. They were at the ninja academy right now. The most she could do was teach Mina a lesson.
“If I killed her here, I’d be punished. Even worse, Tonan-kun would find out and I might never have a chance with him again.”
With that in mind, Chiryo put away her Byakugan and knelt on the ground with both hands on the floor.
“I’m begging you. Please give Tonan-kun to me. You still have your clan but I have nothing. I can’t live without him.”
Since she couldn’t take it by force, she had to come at it in another way. Mina never expected Chiryo to pull this trick.
“Just give up.”
Mina slightly eased her tone, and said “By the way, aren’t you missing a little detail here?”
Chiryo looked up at Mina, puzzled.
“The Hyugas don’t allow intermarriage with other clans. I had never thought of you as a love rival, I just don’t like you.”
After saying that, Mina’s lips curved into a smile. She put away her kunai and headed back to class. Chiryo’s kneeling today put her in a very good mood. All the haze of her past defeat was swept away.
Under the tree in the field, only Chiryo was left kneeling with her head deeply bowed, a manic expression on her face. When it was almost time for class, she returned like a walking corpse.
In fact, most people in Konoha knew about the Hyuga clan’s rule forbidding intermarriage. Just that there was nothing in it to gossip about, so no one usually talked about it.
It never crossed Chiryo’s mind either. When Mina pointed it out, she recalled that everyone she saw at the clan’s ground was a Hyuga. She had never seen any Hyuga clan members move out of the clan through marriage, or anyone marrying in.
Chiryo only needed one simple confirmation to realize that Mina was stating a fact. During class, she couldn’t take in a single word. Her face was pale as a sheet of paper and her eyes were threatening to spill tears that she was forcibly holding back.
“That means Tonan-kun and I can’t be together. Even if Tonan-kun liked me, the clan won’t agree to it.”
Chiryo reached in between her thick bangs and stroked the caged bird mark.
“What about leaving everything behind and eloping? Is that even impossible? Caged bird… a cage that one could never be free from. The only way out is death. But there’s no Tonan-kun in the world of the dead.”
When she thought of this, Chiryo moved her gaze slightly and looked at Tonan’s back.
“Tonan-kun. Even in death, I want to be with you.”
On the tree outside the window, two white pigeons were nestled together. Tonan had watched everything that happened. Even though he did not know what they said, he could guess it.
Tonan gave up on Chiryo. All-day long, all she had on her mind was love and relationships, and he wasted so much time eating out with her. He wanted to give her enough hope and courage to compete with Mina but she never thought about working hard.
Looking at her appearance now, she even seemed despondent. This provision was ruined, so he could only pin his hopes on Mina now.
Mina seemed to really like that kitten. Once she pours enough affection on it, Tonan planned to find the right opportunity to kill it before the Third Great Shinobi War.
That way, maybe he could force Mina to awaken her Sharingan.
